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by violence, and did [that] which [is] not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.

Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? they appeal to their own experience for the con. trary. God replies, When the son hath done that which is Jawful and right, [and] hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it 20 shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.*

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But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is 22 lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done 23 he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: [and] not that he should return from his ways, and live?

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But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? reflect upon what I have been saying, and then judge. 26 When a righteous [man] turneth away from his righteous

ness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his in27 iquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked [man] turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall 28 save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he 29 shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Then 30 comes the application: Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn [yourselves] from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

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Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new

There are some passages in scripture that seem to contradict this: as when God is said to visit the sins of the fathers upon the children: the meaning of which is, that God would bring such national calamities upon the Israelites for their idolatry, as would af fect succeeding generations; such as war and captivity. But here, I imagine, he is speaking of the manner in which he will finally deal with souls.

32 spirit for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn [yourselves,] and live ye; God has promised his spirit and grace to those who attempt to do this, and therefore he may properly exhort them to make themselves a new heart, to turn, and live.

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REFLECTIONS.

ET us observe and admire the condescension of God, in reasoning the case with these unreasonable men. He might have silenced their profane tongues, and destroyed them at once. A little reflection would have convinced them of the injustice of their charge against God, if they had attended to the remonstrances of their prophets, and especially their promises, and invitations to repentance. But, unreasonable and profane as they were, God himself condescended to reason the case with them; choosing rather to convince, than condemn them. Thus he proceeds still, that he may be just when he speaketh, and rightcous when he judgeth the children of men.

2. Observe the claim which God has upon the spirits of men, v. 4. He breathed into men their souls; gave them rational capacities; supports them, and holds their souls in life: the souls of children are his; parents are the fathers of their flesh, but God is the father of their spirits; all are the work of his hands. Let us all remember and consider this. It is a proof that he will deal justly and impartially with his creatures: and is a motive to devote our souls, and the souls of our children to God; and to employ all our powers and capacities in his service.

3. We have important instruction to the descendants both of good and bad men. It is here supposed, and alas! fact too often confirms it, that the children of good men may prove wicked. When they do so, their birth and descent will be of no service to them they shall be punished; and punished worse than others, because they have enjoyed such advantages for religion. Let the children of good parents therefore rejoice with trembling. On the other hand, if the children of wicked parents consider their conduct; what mischiefs their sins brought upon them and their families; what a reproach they were to themselves, and what they have reason to fear their end was; if they consider these things, and avoid the sins of their fathers, they shall not fare the worse for their wickedness: but be accepted of God, and enjoy the fruits of their own righteousness.

4. We should keep this representation continually in view; and expect this righteous judgment. There may be some difficulties in the divine dispensations in this world; and there were some rules of his proceeding peculiar to the Jewish dispensation: VOL. VI.

but this chapter leads us to the rule of God's final judgment. And these truths are plainly taught; viz. that he does not force men to sin; nor make their ruin inevitable; that no man shall be punished hereafter for the sins of his father, grandfather, or first father; however he may in the stated course of providence suffer for them: but that every man shall receive according to his own works, the things which are done in the body. Let us then attend to our duty; consider our ways; repent, and return to the Lord; that is, turn from all sin to all righteousness; and then, through Christ, we shall find mercy. Let those who have done this, persevere. If they turn from their righteousness, they will lose all they have wrought, and die in their iniquities. God has promised his grace to those who will stir up themselves, and use their best endeavours. Work out, therefore, your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who worketh in you to will and to do of his own good pleasure.

CHAP. XIX.

This chapter contains a lamentation for the princes of Israel, under the parable of lions' whelps taken in a pit; and for Jerusalem, under the parable of a wasted vine.

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OREOVER take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, And say, what [is] thy mother, the kingdom of Judah? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions; it hath been a bloody and cruel kingdom, and hath taught her princes to be so too; she hath learned the ill manners of her neighbours and 2 allies. And she brought up one of her whelps; Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, who was a tyrant, and made great desolation; it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it 4 devoured men. The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt; the Ammonites, Syrians, and Moabites came against him, and plundered the country; Pharaoh Necho took him prisoner, carried him to Egypt, and he was heard of no 5 more. Now when she saw that she had waited for his return in vain, [and] her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, [and] made him a young lion; set up his brother Jehoiakim, that is, Pharaoh did so with the people's consent. was tyrannical and oppressivé, and imitated the vices of his broth6 er, without taking warning by his misfortunes. And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, [and] devoured men. And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities;

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and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring; he took away the houses of the great men, and 8 depopulated the country. Then the nations, the Chaldeans and their allies, set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. 9 And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel; where he should cause no more terror, nor make any more devastation.

Thy mother [is] like a vine, or, like a pomegranate, in thy blood, or, in thy quietness, planted by the waters; she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters; while 11 Zedekiah was quiet, and paid his tribute regularly. And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, valiant princes, fit to sway the sceptre, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height, with the multitude of her branches; the kingdom was in great 12 power and glory. But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them; her kings and princes were made captives, 13 and many of the people destroyed. And now she [is] planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground; is carried to Babylon, which is a wilderness, compared to her own country ; 14 a disagreeable and dangerous situation. And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, [which] hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod [to be] a sceptre to rule; Zedekiah, one of the royal family, hath brought this mischief upon her by breaking his oath with the king of Babylon. This [is] a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation; they shall long lament it, and never be completely recovered.

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REFLECTIONS.

SEE how are cramble yet a padnut de

EE how lamentable are the circumstances of a people un

scription is here of the misery of Judah! her princes are compared to lions, and very properly; for as roaring lions, and a raging bear, so are wicked rulers over a poor people, when they pervert the end of their office, employ their power for mischief, deprive their subjects of their rights, break solemn engagements, and trample upon every thing sacred. Nations under such governors are much to be pitied. The sufferers lament it, and their posterity shall long lament it. Let us be thankful that it is not our case; but that we live under an equitable government; and

*See Bp. Newcome in loc.

earnestly pray, that they who rule over men may be just, ruling in the fear of God; and that he would raise up some to humble and bring down the tyrants of the earth.

2. When God removes men from his house and ordinances, they are in a wilderness. A remarkable phrase, in v. 13. Babylon was a noble, rich, and fruitful country; far from being a wilderness in itself; but it was so to the Jews; not so much on account of their hardships and sufferings there, as their being removed from the temple, sacrifices and feasts of the Lord. Whatever excellencies any situation may have, it is a wilderness, without religious advantages. This should direct us what to have principally in view in any settlement, and excite us to value and improve our privileges, lest he plant us in a wilderness, in a dry and a thirsty land.

CHAP. XX. 1-44.

In which God refuseth to be consulted by the elders of Israel: gives them an history of their rebellions; and concludes with promises of their restoration.

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ND it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth

A month, the tenth [day] of the month, [that] certain

of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me what their particular inquiry was, is not said; it seems to have been, whether they might comply with some of the idolatries in Babylon, that so they might be upon better terms with 2 their neighbours. Then came the word of the LORD unto me, 3 saying, Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Gon; Are ye come to inquire of me? [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you; or, I will not give you such an answer as you expect.

Wilt thou not judge them, son of man, wilt thou not judge [them] and cause them to know the abominations of their 5 fathers And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them, in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I [am] the LORD your God, and entered into covenant 6 with them; In the day [that] I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, that is, chosen with peculiar care, a land flowing with milk and honey, which [is] the glory of all lands: Then said I unto them, Cast'ye away every man the abomina tions of his eyes, those idols which you look upon with delight, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt; (which

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